Secret Smile
by Perdyta
Summary: She smiles at him all secret-like and he smiles back because he knows what the secret is. Written for the Fall Challenge at Rayne Shippers on livejournal. My prompt was Seeds.
1. Chapter 1

**Secret Smile**

The eatin' room smells like crotch again. Not the good River kind, neither. Heh.

The damn package _said_ pumpkin seeds. It _looks_ like regular protein mash all spread out on a pan. The only difference is that it has a mighty stench that might bring pumpkin seeds to mind, but just makes Jayne think of Simon's cookin'.

"_Go se_ needs more salt," Jayne grumbles. Lots and lots of the gorram salt is what it needs.

He looks up as his River-girl walks into the eatin' room - though it is a gorram stretch to just call that walkin'. He could swear every step she takes is one of her genius little calc-u-la-tions that she turns into her own moonbrain dance. She smiles at him all secret-like and he smiles back because he knows what the secret is.

Or so he thought.

* * *

Her Jayne worries about pumpkin seeds and protein. She sniffs at the odd imitation food mush and makes a face. He laughs and she smiles.

Jayne takes a drink of his coffee and River tilts her head as she watches him take a long drink. Luke warm.

Gross.

"The seed we planted has begun to sprout."

His reaction is slow.

With the cup of coffee still at his mouth, he slowly turns his gaze up to hers and begins to gulp down his drink much more quickly. Too quickly. The drink is not quite cool enough.

He understands. He does not yet comprehend. Not yet.

River places her hand on the cup and he sets it down, his eyes are watery from the warmth of the drink.

"The flowers bloom in the Spring."

She smiles at him and gives him a kiss before twirling away and humming the song of Mothers. Or, at least, she believes it sounds very maternal.

"Flow_ers_?" He asks, the faintest sign of excitement is on his face. It shines very clearly through the shock. "As in... more than one!?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Some people suggested I continue this story a while ago so this is my attempt. I hope I'm not ruining a good thing. Don't worry, this is going to remain fluffy fluff. **  
**

**Giggles and Grins**

"I will never get used to that," Simon was wrinkling his nose. He was talking to Kaylee about his least favorite couple while she was on the floor with engine oil dripping into her hair. She made a noise of amusement that was muffled by the machinery around her.

"You aint never gonna get used to washin' oil stains outta your boxers let alone Jayne bein' with River." She did not even have to look up to know that Simon was blushing.

"Well... still..."

"Oh, still nothin' Simon," Kaylee said with a grunt as she pulled herself out from underneath the engine. "Now get your cute Pìgu over here and help me up," Kaylee reached her hands into the air and a still blushing Simon walked over to help a five month pregnant mechanic up.

"You know, River can be doing this for you," Simon said. He motioned to the engine, "I mean working on the engine."

"I know, but I'm pacing myself like you said and leaving the heavy lifting for the Cap'n and Jayne. I only got a couple more weeks with her before I can't even hardly move around."

Simon laugh, "You'll be able to move around, Bǎobèi... and let's not talk about Jayne right now."

"You're the one who brought him up in the first place. Or... brought him and River together up in the first place..." Kaylee smiled up at Simon sweetly who had his eyes closed and was shaking his head like a stubborn little boy not getting his way.

"You see this? This is me not able to get used to... _that_." Just to add to the affect, Simon also threw in a well placed shudder. Kaylee just shook her head and smiled, leading him out of the engine room by the hand.

Hand in hand, they walked from the engine room to the kitchen. On the way they passed a very happy looking River who was humming and only stopped to kiss both Simon and Kaylee on the cheek which made them both smile. She tried to walk away again humming but Kaylee called out a question after her.

"Did Jayne do good today?"

Simon flinched and put his hand to his forehead, hoping River chose to be vague instead of crass. He was beginning to like it when River was vague nowadays because Jayne and Kaylee were having the worst influence on her when it came to saying exactly what was what.

"Jayne understood. He understands. When I said 'flowers' he understood it meaning more than one. He is more than exceptional, my Jayne." And then, after that speech, she waltzed away and continued humming. Simon looked down at Kaylee who also had no idea what River had meant but was smiling her very shiny smile all the same.

"Aw. They are so cute."

Simon shook his head and continued walking all the way into the kitchen where a very stunned looking Jayne sat at the table with coffee spilled all over his shirt.

"Yes, I can see the endearment," Simon said with a roll of his eyes. His voice seemed to snap Jayne out of Jayne-land and bring him right back to Serentiy. Unfortunately.

"Uh, hello. Doc. Kaylee... Bye." And then he was out of the kitchen in a blink of an eye, but not before the both of them caught sight of a very large grin.

Kaylee was no longer smiling and instead had her head tilted, "I'm... confused."

At that moment, Mal walked in and began pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Who made a mess all over the kitchen? And why the hell does it smell like Simon's cookin'? You remember that rule about how you're not allowed to cook anymore, right Doc?"

* * *

Jayne caught up with his River-girl. She stopped on the catwalk and let him wrap his arms around her, holding her from behind.

"Are you sure?" Even as he asked he knew it was a dumb thing to ask. River did not tell him it was dumb, though. She turned and smiled up at him, a smile that answered the question.

"Of course I am," she said, laying one hand on her abdomen. He knew she was, he just had to ask. She was the first one to say anything about Kaylee expecting and boy had that been a scream of happiness to go on the record books.

"I wanna tell 'em. All of 'em." Jayne was grinning and leaned his forehead down against hers. River was smiling still.

"I can feel your happiness," River said softly with a hand over his heart. "Can you feel mine?"

"Is that a yes? Tell them?"

River giggled excitedly and then nodded.

"I just had to make sure, River," He tried to tell her but she was planting soft kisses on the palms of his hands and looking up at him in a way that made him forget how to talk, but he had to make sure, especially after his big screw up from before. It seemed so long ago now.

* * *

Jayne had never gone to war before. Nothing officially declared anyway, but he had definitely won his fair share of battles. On the side of good? He was not ever real sure of that, but he knew his side had always been right. Right for the woman. Right for the money. Right for whatever worked for him.

The night war was declared, Jayne did not sleep well. He reckon a whole lot of the crew did not sleep too well but everyone went all quiet and disappeared to their separate bunks quicker than a fight between Simon and Kaylee would begin, finish and get made up with sexin'. And that was quick, just for the record.

No one bein' around was just fine. Jayne couldn't sleep and he wasn't lookin' for company neither. He was lookin' for grub was all.

But what he was lookin' for and what he was findin' were always two different things.

He smelled her before she spoke. The shampoo Inara had given her before she went off and died. 'Course that was somethin' he didn't much care to think too much on neither. No one did really, it just happened. One moment the Cap'n would be laughin' and smilin' at eatin' time – though that was rarer and rare these days – and he would accidentally glance over to _her_ spot. He would make it seem like nothin' but everyone could tell. Without tryin' to there they all would be, thinkin' about her again. About the way she died. Without even tellin' the good doc she was sick.

When he smelled Inara's shampoo his first sleep-extra-hyper thoughts were that her ghost was haunting the grub room, but then the moonbrain opened her mouth. She was always openin' her mouth.

"Do you think we are doing the right thing?" River asked. Her voice sounded so tiny and it made Jayne uncomfortable. Like he was being asked by a little kid about life and death. Only she was the deadliest person around. And she was looking at him in the dark like a lost little girl.

"'Course I do. Stupid question." He said shortly.

"I sometimes wonder if I should have kept the secret," River looked at the food in his hands and back up at him. "I was always horrible at keeping secrets but they never started wars before."

Jayne set down his bowl of protein and reached for a bottle of water, tossing her one as well. She caught it without looking up from her thoughtful gazing.

"Don't ever think that. Those gorram alliance boys started the war. You just made sure people knew what side was right and which was wrong." Jayne drank deeply and wished for alcohol but the Doc had stolen the last bit they had left. Somethin' about his medical supplies being low and him needin' some sorta sterilizer. Jayne wondered when the hell the Doc got such a say in things.

River opened her bottle of water and drank deeply. They were being rationed. This time, the browncoats outnumbered the alliance by a long shot, but they were getting their supplies cut off already. Food and water were getting harder to come by, let alone fuel to keep them from being dead in the water.

River set down the bottle and wiped her lips.

"I could not sleep." She admitted.

"Who could?" Jayne said with a noncommittal shrug. He wanted her to go away, let him wander the ship by himself. Do a few sets and try not to think too hard on the shepherd. He drank deeply from his water and tried to think of something other than the shrinking number of crew members on Serenity.

"Should we make love?"

Jayne spit the water everywhere. He was sure some even made it over the counter and the table to where River sat because he saw her daintily wipe her cheek.

"Is this how you normally reject women?" River asked, her tone detached.

"I just – what – you are – huh?"

"You wanted to think of other things," River explained as if she were talking to a young child. "I wish for the same. Seemed like the easiest solution to both our problems. Also, the poetry of it, making love before a war."

"You're supposed to do that with someone you love. Not whoever is available."

"Oh."

They sat in an awkward silence for a moment longer before River left without a word to her bunk.

If she had only asked for a quick rut instead of to make love. Then maybe he wouldn't feel so gorram queasy.

* * *

Jayne wasn't so keen on thinkin' of the past, especially when it was a past when he did not know the love of his River-girl. It no longer made him embarrassed to think or say it because he did love her and no matter how much of a mild uproar it had caused the dwindling crew of Serenity, everyone else had come to see the truth and respect it as well.

Hand in hand they walked back to the grub room, his River-girl smiling up at him all serene and heavenly like and whatnot and he was afraid his own grin probably looked like more of an idiot's than anything.

The Doc was cleaning up Jayne's pumpkin seed mess and he noticed there was spilled coffee on the table still and on his shirt as well... he had forgotten completely about his attempted snack time but he wasn't really all that concerned when Simon was on clean up duty.

Mal and Zoe were sitting at the table having a drink. No invite for him? Gorram war buddies. Weren't his fault they had to go and survive everyone together all the time.

Jayne felt guilty suddenly at that thought and then mildly guilty of the news they were going to share. All Zoe had ever wanted was a little baby Wash.

Kaylee was rummaging through the cupboards finding something probably pretty delicious to make. Modest as the girl could be, she always made the sweetest tasting treats out of not much of anything.

"You two gonna stand and stare at us all day?" the Cap finally said, snapping Jayne out of his thoughts. He realized River had been patiently waiting for him. She was always so gorram patient with him, but he hated it. There was no reason she needed to let him keep slippin' deeper and deeper into his thoughts of nothin'.

He was turnin' into a regular ole moonbrain hisself.

Everyone was looking at them expectantly and when he felt like he might burst, he got that big ole stupid grin back on his face and began talking the same time as his River-girl.

"River wants to tell you - "

"Jayne and I have - "

"I knocked her up everyone!" Jayne exclaimed. "And I did it so gorram well she's having twins!"


End file.
